Calories burned
fishing
257 kcal / hour Fishing burns approximately 257 calories per hour for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, and 129 calories in 30 minutes. Across the normal adult weight range the hourly figure runs from about 184 to 441 kcal.
It carries a MET value of 3.5 in the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities, which lists 10 measured variations of this activity from MET 1.8 to 5.
Calories burned fishing by body weight
Energy cost scales with the mass you move, so body weight changes the answer more than anything else.
| Body weight | 15 min | 30 min | 45 min | 60 min | 90 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 kg (110 lb) | 46 | 92 | 138 | 184 | 276 |
| 60 kg (132 lb) | 55 | 110 | 165 | 221 | 331 |
| 70 kg (154 lb) | 64 | 129 | 193 | 257 | 386 |
| 80 kg (176 lb) | 74 | 147 | 221 | 294 | 441 |
| 90 kg (198 lb) | 83 | 165 | 248 | 331 | 496 |
| 100 kg (220 lb) | 92 | 184 | 276 | 368 | 551 |
| 110 kg (243 lb) | 101 | 202 | 303 | 404 | 606 |
| 120 kg (265 lb) | 110 | 221 | 331 | 441 | 662 |
Figures in kilocalories (the "calories" on food labels). The highlighted row is the 70 kg reference adult used in the headline figure; the highlighted column is one hour.
Every official intensity of fishing
The Compendium lists 10 separate fishing entries, each with its own measured MET value — from 1.8 to 5. Most calculators collapse all of this into one number. Pick the row that matches what you actually did.
| Variation | MET | kcal/hr at 70 kg | kcal/hr at 90 kg | Code |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| jig or line, standing, general | 1.8 | 132 | 170 | 04086 |
| ice, sitting | 2 | 147 | 189 | 04083 |
| fishing wheel, setting net and retrieving fish, general | 3 | 221 | 284 | 04120 |
| Fishing (general) | 3.5 | 257 | 331 | 04005 |
| dip net, setting net and retrieving fish, general | 3.5 | 257 | 331 | 04095 |
| commercial, light effort | 3.5 | 257 | 331 | — |
| set net, setting net and retrieving fish, general | 3.8 | 279 | 359 | 04110 |
| catching fish with hands | 4 | 294 | 378 | 04030 |
| crab fishing | 4.5 | 331 | 425 | 04010 |
| commercial, moderate effort | 5 | 368 | 473 | — |
Codes are 2024 Adult Compendium activity codes. A dash means the code could not be read unambiguously from the published table, so it is left blank rather than guessed — the MET value and description are unaffected.
What 257 calories an hour actually means
At MET 3.5, fishing counts as moderate activity — it uses about 3.5 times the energy your body burns sitting still. For a 70 kg adult that works out to roughly 4 kcal per minute, or 257 kcal across a full hour.
Within fishing & hunting, that ranks 7th of 10 activities by energy cost, a little below hunting large marine animals (MET 4) and above fishing with a spear (MET 2.3).
Put differently: one hour of fishing costs about the same energy as 52 minutes of ordinary walking.
On the food side, a medium banana (about 105 kcal) takes roughly 24 minutes of fishing to offset at that body weight. That framing is useful for scale, but it is worth saying plainly: exercise and diet are not a ledger that cancels neatly, and appetite tends to rise with activity.
Questions
How many calories does fishing burn per hour?
About 257 kcal per hour for a 70 kg (154 lb) adult, using the Compendium MET value of 3.5. A 90 kg adult burns closer to 331 kcal in the same hour, because energy cost scales almost directly with body mass.
How many calories does 30 minutes of fishing burn?
Roughly 129 kcal at 70 kg, 110 kcal at 60 kg and 184 kcal at 100 kg. Halving the time halves the calories — the relationship is linear.
What is the MET value of fishing?
3.5, taken as the median of the 10 fishing entries in the 2024 Adult Compendium, which range from 1.8 to 5 depending on intensity. One MET is the energy you use sitting quietly, so MET 3.5 means 3.5 times that rate.
Is this an exact number of calories?
No, and no calculator can give you one. MET values are population averages measured in laboratory conditions; your own figure varies with fitness, technique, terrain, temperature and body composition. Treat these numbers as a solid estimate for planning, not a precise measurement — and treat any device or site claiming three-digit precision with suspicion.
Related activities
Three more from fishing & hunting, and three with a similar energy cost from elsewhere in the Compendium.
MET value from the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities (activity code 04086). Calories computed as MET × 3.5 × weight kg ÷ 200 per minute. General information only — not medical, fitness or nutrition advice. Calorie figures are population estimates and vary between individuals.